Electric chicken brooder



May 25, 1937. K. w. DU sois ELECTRIC CHICKEN BROODER Filed May 14, 1936 INVENTG BY /L.

ATTORNEY.

Patented May 25, 1937 UNITED STATES 2,081,395 .Emormc cmcxnu BROODEB Kenneth W. Du Bois, Plainville, Conn., asslgnor to The Trumbull Electric Manufacturing Gom- Dany, Plainviile, nccticut onn., a corporation of Con- Application May 14, 1936, Serial No. 79,683

4 Claims.

The use of electricity as a source of heating for brooding small chickens has many advantages over the use of gas, oil and hot water heaters. By the use of electricity uniformity of temperature is more accurately and more easily attained, fire hazard 'is practically eliminated and the equipment required is much more convenient and involves a considerable saving of labor and cost. I

The main object of my invention is to provide a simple and inexpensive type of construction which will be clean and safe to operate and which will eliminate cold floor drafts and provide a dry and adequately ventilated brooder. I have specifically sought to provide a construction, the parts of which may be assembled in various re-. lations for different sizes of brooders and in which the parts may be readily installed, inspected, or replaced if necessary.

I have shown the invention as applied to a conical type housing but it should be understood that the exact shape of the housing is immaterial to the invention claimed.

In carrying out the invention the heat is provided by air radiation from associated parts of the heater wire, so constructed and arranged, however, that it is impossible for the chicks to be injured by contact with any part of the heating means or members.

Fig. 1 is-a side view-andpartial section showing one form of the invention.

Fig. 2-is a fragmentary view of a number of heater sections, the view being taken looking upwardly in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a detail sectional view of the support for the heater wire on the plane of the line 3-3 of Fig. 2. I

Fig. 4' is a longitudinal sectional view showing the junction between two heater sections. A

Fig. 5 is a perspective-view of a sheet metal guard and radiator.

Fig. 6 is a perspectiveview of one of the insulating supports for the heater wire.

Fig. '7 is a detail view of a fragment of a wire mesh guard.

The outer casing or hood 1 is provided with a ventilating stack 8 and a fabric skirt 9.

Inside of the outer casing or hood is a hover ill with a depending flange ii.

The heater per se has a resistance wire l2 which is guarded by a trough-shaped guard member i3 spaced apart from the hover ill by the insulating blocks i4 and I4. These two blocks are preferably identical one with the other A channel IS in each of the blocks serves as one-half of the passageway for the resistance wire. These insulating blocks are preferably secured to the hover by an easily removable U- shaped wire member l6 whose ends ii are passed through the hover and bent over, as shown in Fig. 3.

The insulating blocks are provided with grooves l8 to position the securing wire. The guard I3 is provided with an extension l9 at each end and the extensions of adjacent guards overlap as shown in Figs. 2 and 4. The extensions may be slotted at 20 to permit of the passage of-the fastening wires. These slots being elongated it is obvious that considerable flexibility is permitted to adapt the radiating guards to the curved surface of the hover so that although the guards are substantially straight, they may be arranged around the inner circumference of a conical surface of the hover. This flexibility also permits the guards to be. flexed in case the hover is bent or distorted. In this way damage by breakage is avoided.

The electric conductor'may be brought into the brooder in any convenient and usual manner and the conductor cord may be attached to a distribution or terminal box 2| from which the ends oi the heater wire are led. It is also desirable to employ an indicator lamp in a socket 22 which will be connected in the circuit in any suitable manner.

It will be understood that the temperature of the brooder may be controlled thermostatically or in any other suitable manner.

The circulation or air in such a brooder ensures an even distribution of heat over all the area covered by the breeder and eliminates cold floor drafts within the brooder.

. The openings in the shield or guard members permit considerable variation in the relative angular position of these parts. The openings also permit a limited amount of longitudinal ad- -justment of the guards.

The guard member is preferably provided with openings for the circulation of air and for this purpose the guard member may be made of perforated sheet metal as shown in Figs. 2, 4, and 5 or of other reticulated or openwork material such as wire mesh work l3 as shown in Fig. 7. This allows the heated air to pass through but prevents the birds from contacting the heated resistance wire.

I claim:

1. In an electrical heater for a brooder of the type having a hover. a resistance heating wire,

a support for said wire including spaced pairs of opposed insulating members each 01 which has a groove in one face thereof, said grooves of each pair being positioned adjacent each other with 5 the wire passing through and supported within the space formed by said grooves in each of the spaced pairs, a shield tor said wire partially surrounding said supporting members and said wire. and including a plurality oi channel-shaped o perforate metal members overlapping each other at their ends, said overlapping portions having elongated slots therein, and means passing through and occupying only a portion of said slots for holding said shield members, supporting mem- 15 beta and wire together and against the hover.

2. A brooder having a hover, an electric heater beneath'said'hover, said heater including a resistance wire, a pair oi opposed insulating members between which said resistance wire is held, 20 a peri'orate shield beneath said resistance wire to keep birds from coming incontact with said resistance wire, and clamping means engaging one side oi said hover, holding the shield against one 01 said insulating members, and holding 25 the other one or said insulating members contiguous the other side of said hover from that engaged by said clamping means, and holding the first mentioned insulating member adjacent the second with said resistance wire therebetween.

3. A brooder having a hover, an electric heater beneath said hover, said heater including a resistance wire, insulating supporting means for said resistance wire, a perforate metal shield shaped to keep birds from coming in contact with said resistance, and spaced irom said wire by said insulated supporting means, said shield being constructed in substantially short lengths each provided with end portions adapted to overlap similar end portions of adjacent lengths and provided with a slotted portion in each length, whereby said lengths may be adjusted longitudinally and supported at different obtuse angles with respect to one another.

4. A brooder having a hover, an electric heater beneath said hover, said heater including a resistance wire, insulating supporting means for said resistance wire, a perforate metal shield constructed in lengths each of substantially chan- KENNETH W. DU B018. 

